10 Things We Want From Apple in the Next Six Months

The iPhone 4 is a major product release, and it has set the Internet humming with discussion of its new features. But Apple makes much more than iPhones, and some observers hoped to hear more at Steve Jobs's WWDC announcement. Here's what we think (and hope) Apple will deliver.

The iPhone 4 is a major product release, and it has set the Internet humming with discussion of its new features. But Apple makes much more than iPhones, and some observers hoped to hear more at Steve Jobs's WWDC announcement.

Apple has several more chances this year to update their many product lines. There's a traditional iPod event every September, and Mac models are usually updated throughout the year. Here's our wish list of ten things we'd like to see from Apple by the end of 2010  with the understanding, of course, that not all (or even any) of these many really appear.

10.) iOS 4 for iPad: Steve Jobs promised that iOS 4 with multitasking, would be coming to the iPad this fall. We didn't hear an update about this during WWDC, so we're thinking this one is still on track. At least, we're hoping it is.

9.) Arrandale processors for laptops: Apple likes to track Intel's processor releases about six months after Intel launches them. In January, Intel released its Arrandale processor line also known as the mobile Core i3, i5 and i7 prcessors. The new processors improve battery life and performance, so there's no reason for Apple not to sock them into MacBooks relatively soon.

8.) More touch, more places: Apple has been intensely interested in touchscreens and gestures for a while, and there were some rumors of a multi-touch "magic trackpad" peripheral before WWDC. Apple is currently behind the curve when it comes to putting touch-sensitivity into desktop and laptop PCs, but that may just be because they're trying to find the best user experience. Implementing touch as part of the Mac experience could be a big leap forward for that platform (and possibly open the way to iPhone games running on Macs in emulation.)

7.) Signs of life for the Mac Mini: A seemingly orphaned Apple platform, the Mac Mini exists in limbo. It used to be Apple's halfhearted attempt to create a low-cost PC. Now, to some extent, the iPad may have rendered it irrelevant - the iPad is Apple's low-cost PC. Apple needs to show a vision for the low end of their PC product line, or just cut it off and tell cheapskates to buy iPads.

6.) A Macbook Air update: Apple's costly ultra-light laptop wasn't an unqualified success. It's super-thin and super-light, but hasn't grabbed consumers' attention the way many other Apple products have. Just like with the Mac Mini, Apple needs to show a vision for this product line or start directing its energies elsewhere.

5.) iPod Touch 4: Apple just redefined the iPhone; now they need to provide a product for folks who don't want the whole phone part (and the two-year contract it comes with.) An iPod Touch 4, with HD video recording and a retina display but no phone, should be coming soon.

4.) OS X 10.7: WWDC used to be a Mac developer's conference. Hello? Hello? Anyone over there in Cupertino remember the Mac? At the convention this year there wasn't a single Mac-related poster, and Steve Jobs didn't bother to spend any time in his speech talking about the Mac OS. Apple needs to reassure Mac developers and users that there's a path forward for their core PC platform.

3.) New Apple TV: Shortly before WWDC, Engadget posted a story on what they claimed was a leaked, new model of the Apple TV  essentially, an iPod Touch with a remote-control interface, no touchscreen, and a TV out. The new "cloud-based" Apple TV would be dependent on streaming media rather than local content, though you could also attach an external hard drive. With Google moving into the TV space, Apple at least needs a placeholder, and the three-year-old, much-neglected Apple TV isn't cutting-edge any more.

2.) iTunes.com: Many people were surprised that Apple didn't announce some sort of streaming or subscription music service at WWDC, given that the company acquired and then shut down Web-based music service Lala. The Lala acquisition has to lead to something, and the idea of a streaming music and video service dovetails well with the theoretical plans for a new Apple TV. It remains to be seen what Pandora and Netflix, two of Apple's favorite developers, would think of Apple entering the streaming media scene, though.

1.) Another US carrier for the iPhone: The United States is one of only three countries with an exclusive carrier for the iPhone - South Korea and Japan are the other two - and U.S. consumers are beyond sick of AT&T's monopoly on Apple's phone platform. Many have clamored for Apple to strike a deal with Verizon, but that company's CDMA radio system may be a major barrier. Americans would probably be thrilled if the iPhone appeared anywhere else, even on T-Mobile.

PCMag.com's lead mobile analyst, Sascha Segan, has reviewed hundreds of smartphones, tablets and other gadgets in more than 9 years with PCMag. He's the head of our Fastest Mobile Networks project, one of the hosts of the daily PCMag Live Web show and speaks frequently in mass media on cell-phone-related issues. His commentary has appeared on ABC, the BBC, the CBC, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, and in newspapers from San Antonio, Texas to Edmonton, Alberta.
Segan is also a multiple award-winning travel writer, having contributed...
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